Artist Database

ASHEVAK, Kenojuak

Born

Baffin Island, 1927

Died

Cape Dorset, 2013

Biography synopsis

Kenojuak Ashevakâ€™s imprint on the Canadian cultural landscape is indelible. Although best known for her drawing and printmaking, she was also gifted at sewing, sculpture, copperplate engraving and painting. She began her career as an artist after recovering from tuberculosis in Quebec City, where she learned to make dolls and do beadwork in a hospital crafts program. Her work caught the eye of James Houston, who taught printmaking to the Inuit after studying the technique in Japan, and was an instrumental figure in promoting Inuit art. Her first print, Rabbit Eating Seaweed, earned her widespread attention after it was published in the 1959 Cape Dorset print shop catalogue, where she was the only woman to become a member in the shopâ€™s artist cooperative. Her art has traveled all over Canada and the world, in exhibitions, books, catalogues, and films. Three of Ashevakâ€™s prints have circulated on Canadian stamps: Enchanted Owl in 1970; Return of the Sun in 1980; and The Owl in 1993. Her drawings feature animals, such as birds, drawn in vibrant colours with exaggerated features. Over her lifetime, Ashevak has garnered numerous achievements that honour her exuberant creative spirit. In 1967, she was honoured with the Order of Canada Medal of Service; In 1995, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards; in 2008, she was the first Inuit artist to win the Governor Generalâ€™s Award in Visual and Media Arts; and in 2012, she was awarded the Order of Nunavut.

Eiserman, Jennifer. "They can Still Act Chinese and be Canadian at the Same Time: Reflections on Multiculturalism and the Alberta Art Curriculum." Canadian Review of Art Education: Research & Issues 36.1 (2009): 67-82.

Jimenez, Marina. "'Art is My Job And My Love': She's a Celebrity: Guest on Board an Arctic Cruise, but Nothing The Inuit Artist does Broadcasts Her Profession. When the Ship Pulls into Cape Dorset, however, it's as if Globe & Mail (Toronto) 20 Oct. 2003.